The Rossini Opera Festival has unveiled the programme for its 47th edition, to be held in Pesaro from 11 to 23 August 2026. The season combines a new large-scale production with the return of several landmark stagings from the festival’s history, alongside a concert programme marking major anniversaries.
The festival will open with a new production of Le Siège de Corinthe, conducted by Carlo Rizzi and directed by Davide Livermore. One of Rossini’s most ambitious works for the Paris stage, the opera forms the centrepiece of the 2026 edition and reflects the ROF’s long-standing focus on Rossini’s grand operatic output.
Several productions closely associated with the festival’s identity will return next summer. L’occasione fa il ladro is revived in the staging by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, first presented at the ROF in 1987, while La scala di seta returns in Damiano Michieletto’s production, originally created for the festival in 2009. Il viaggio a Reims also comes back in the now-established production by Emilio Sagi, performed by singers of the Accademia Rossiniana “Alberto Zedda”.
The concert programme includes Flórez 30, marking the 30th anniversary of Juan Diego Flórez’s debut at the festival, with Guillermo García Calvo on the podium. A series of Bel canto Concerts and the return of Rossinimania further expand the festival’s non-staged offerings.
The 2026 Rossini Opera Festival will close with Rossini’s Stabat Mater, conducted by Domingo Hindoyan, bringing the edition to an end with one of the composer’s most frequently performed sacred works.
About the Rossini Opera Festival
Founded in 1980, the Rossini Opera Festival is held every August in Pesaro, the birthplace of Gioachino Rossini. The festival was created to study, revive and present Rossini’s operatic output, with particular attention to lesser-known works and performances based on critical editions. Over the decades, it has played a central role in restoring many of Rossini’s operas to the international repertoire and has served as an important platform for leading singers and conductors. In 1993, the Italian Parliament formally recognised the festival’s cultural significance through special legislation supporting its role in preserving national musical heritage.
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